by Calculated Risk on 5/04/2020 12:45:00 PM

The following graph shows heavy truck sales since 1967 using data from the BEA. The dashed line is the April 2020 seasonally adjusted annual sales rate (SAAR).

Heavy truck sales really collapsed during the great recession, falling to a low of 180 thousand SAAR in May 2009.  Then heavy truck sales increased to a new all time high of 575 thousand SAAR in September 2019.


Click on graph for larger image.

However heavy truck sales started declining late last year due to lower oil prices.

And then heavy truck sales really declined at the end of March due to COVID-19 and the collapse in oil prices.

Heavy truck sales were at 259 thousand SAAR in April, down from 382 thousand SAAR in March, and down 54% from 565 thousand SAAR in April 2019.

Heavy truck sales in April were still above the Great Recession low of 180 thousand SAAR in May 2009, and still above the record low of 159 thousand SAAR in 1982.